Am I F'd? 1st day, slow landing on grass, disaster!

[Oso]

No matter how many hundreds of times we've posted here to not do a CSC on the ground to stop the motors, DJI unfortunately still lists that as an option in the manual. If they would just remove that as an option in the manual, it would have saved so many pilots already and more in the future. For sure use CSC in an emergency to stop the motors when either on the ground or in the air, but not for a routine shut down when landed or caught.

There are countless "I'm new, what are some tips?" threads that all say only left stick down once landed, but we will still see the same continuous flow of "it tipped over!" threads as long as the manual is not updated in that area.

Side note - I also wouldn't mind if they finally noted in the manual that left stick down will not stop your motors while still descending.

 

[Scotts]

motors feel smooth, when it is off, the one that smoked smells like carbon and I can see the coils are a little bit darker...just started again with the props off, all systems go--

Phantom Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com
here is the new log

 

[Scotts]

maybe i should get the dji care within the 48 hours, haha
alternatively, how much will it cost to replace the motor for the 1 arm?

 

[Rideswings]

Scotts, dont feel too bad. I have almost 100 flights on my P3A, and it has crashed 3 times already and burned (literally) one time.

I have found that the landing gear is narrow enough so as to be a little bit unstable, and will tip over in a gust of wind when the motors are at idle, or if you land at an angle to the ground. Mine has tipped over in the wind, on grass, and a few other times. When I get near the ground, I am very vigilant to cut the motors off as soon as I see Im on the ground.

You might only need a new motor if one of them is fried. Mine crashed and burned, and I thought I would need to buy a new quad, but I ordered a new motor online, installed it, and have around 50 more flights since the crash and burn.

In the first picture, the inside of the motor is supposed to be copper colored. Mine was black.

The motor got so hot, it melted away the plastic motor mount on the body and sent plumes of white smoke into the air.

I decided to fix it myself, so I bought some motor mount reinforcements online, and now its pretty solid.

 

[Rideswings]

maybe i should get the dji care within the 48 hours, haha
alternatively, how much will it cost to replace the motor for the 1 arm?

You can find them online from $18 - $25 for original DJI parts. Be careful about 2 things. #1 order the correct rotation motor. 2 are clockwise and 2 are counter and they have different part numbers. #2 order the correct kv. I ordered the wrong part number and had to reorder. Mine was 2312A Motor Clockwise Rotation (CW) part 95 for my P3A.

If you decide to fix it yourself, watch some Youtube vidoes on how to disassemble the body. It takes alot of patience to pull (pry) the 2 body halves apart without damaging them. The hardest parts of the new motor installation was prying the body apart and then soldering the new motor in.

 

[Scotts]

Took it back out- and it flew just fine- so... lesson learned, the easy way- was really concerned about that smoke earlier--

thanks guys!!

 

[Mako79]

Took it back out- and it flew just fine- so... lesson learned, the easy way- was really concerned about that smoke earlier--

thanks guys!!

Keep an eye on that motor.
Also, the motor maybe fine but the smoke could be from the mosfets on the integrated ESC main board.
Add a preflight check to check to motors and to hover for 30sec at 10ft before mission.

 

[Mako79]

No matter how many hundreds of times we've posted here to not do a CSC on the ground to stop the motors, DJI unfortunately still lists that as an option in the manual. If they would just remove that as an option in the manual, it would have saved so many pilots already and more in the future. For sure use CSC in an emergency to stop the motors when either on the ground or in the air, but not for a routine shut down when landed or caught.

There are countless "I'm new, what are some tips?" threads that all say only left stick down once landed, but we will still see the same continuous flow of "it tipped over!" threads as long as the manual is not updated in that area.

Side note - I also wouldn't mind if they finally noted in the manual that left stick down will not stop your motors while still descending.

What's worse is that the kill motors CSC is first option and the down throttle for 3 seconds when stationary is the second option. Many will just ignore the second option thinking the first listed is always best.

 

[Imabiggles]

motors feel smooth, when it is off, the one that smoked smells like carbon and I can see the coils are a little bit darker...just started again with the props off, all systems go--

Phantom Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com
here is the new log

dont spin them long times unloaded (no props). Thats a really good way to burn them out. A couple of seconds to <1 minute if you are not WOT is fine (likely what you did), running it to drain a battery, no so good and will burn up your motor and likely the esc when the motor goes.

 

[Imabiggles]

What's worse is that the kill motors CSC is first option and the down throttle for 3 seconds when stationary is the second option. Many will just ignore the second option thinking the first listed is always best.

also, I am not sure the down for three secs thing work if the bird is upside down or on its side. The thing is trying to right itself and you are going to rev up one set doing that.

 

[MikeyOnline]

I still think the firmware could avoid this situation. The software monitors both motor load and motor RPM, so if it sees motor RPM at or near zero and a very high motor load (and possibly no altitude change for 1 second), it should cut the motors to prevent this type of motor burnout.

Mike

 

[erlik-khan]

Sorry for your loss. But it could have been worse! Idk why the left stick method isn't emphasized in the manual. I have used that without fail every time, and i come in HOT for landings on sloped tall grass mountainous regions.
I still haven't tried the auto takeoff, only tried the autoland on one RTH test. In fact the auto land is more dangerous where i am. The only time the bird ever came close to a tip over was the one time i tested the RTH.

 

[ComP3P]

Hand catch on all landings except concrete or asphalt....just saying.....280 successful P3P flights.

 

[donniepolly]

If you simply look down into motor winding you should be able to see burnt wiring. Pretty simple fix. Order a new motor open shell and replace the burnt motor. I speak from experience here as same happened to me and my P-3 pro. Also for new fliers stay clear of hand catching! Welcome and enjoy, donnie

 

[Flintstone]

Hey All,

I've got about 9 minutes of flying under my belt-- read the manual, watched videos, 1st day--

In an open field, calibrate compass, good to go. I take some one minute flights, using auto takeoff and auto land. Before I took it up the last time, there was some kind of warning on the status bar-- trying to remember, something like 'rotors too tight'?... I cycled the power off and on, and then it said ready to fly...

5 minute flight, manual takeoff, when I came in to land, lowered aircraft slowly and hovered about 2 feet off the ground. I then gently lowered the throttle and it set down, then it immediately turned on its side and started SCREAMING! I tried to kill the motors with the remote, but still loud sound, I tried to power off the battery, then I saw smoke coming from one of the motors, I reached in and disconnected the battery...

Sooooo, is this my fault? What would you guys suggest?

Thanks,
Scott

Do you have prop guards on? I had a P2V+ given to me but the person took the prop guards off but used those longer screws to put back into the motor mount. It shoved the screw into the bottom of the motor freezing it up. I took a test flight not knowing this and at 6' the motor locked. It flipped and hit the ground. It took out the motor and fried the ESC. I am replacing both.... don't use prop guards!

 

[moggie2002]

Do you have prop guards on? I had a P2V+ given to me but the person took the prop guards off but used those longer screws to put back into the motor mount. It shoved the screw into the bottom of the motor freezing it up. I took a test flight not knowing this and at 6' the motor locked. It flipped and hit the ground. It took out the motor and fried the ESC. I am replacing both.... don't use prop guards!

Prop guards can be a pfaff to deal with but save a lot of grief when something goes wrong. I recently flew my p3 without them, had a couple of landing tip overs (didn't use CSC and not happened before so unsure why), and this damaged the bearings in a couple of motors. Guards would have avoided this.

This video when I was doing due dil before getting the p3 convinced me of the benefits

with tipover protection at 1m24s

 

[skipilot1]

Unfortunately, a Hubsan is nothing like a Phantom. Sure, it'll help you understand how a quadcopter flies. But, it won't teach you all of the complexities of flying a Phantom (e.g. don't do a CSC after landing).

One time I hit auto land on flat asphalt. It came down nice and slow. After a soft touch down it tipped over and started squealing. I hit the CSC; no smoke and no apparent damage as it has flown beautifully since. I have never used the auto land feature since. I landed it myself with no problems and now almost exclusively hand catch. So much for auto land.

 

[BayouBill]

Recently been playing around with a little Blade 200QX which has a great feature. A dedicated switch on the RC transmitter immediately shuts down the motors and disarms. So when you touch down you can flip the switch and a tip-over will do no harm. It also automatically kills the motors if you crash. DJI are you listening?

 

[Phill2]

Scotts, dont feel too bad. I have almost 100 flights on my P3A, and it has crashed 3 times already and burned (literally) one time.

I have found that the landing gear is narrow enough so as to be a little bit unstable, and will tip over in a gust of wind when the motors are at idle, or if you land at an angle to the ground. Mine has tipped over in the wind, on grass, and a few other times. When I get near the ground, I am very vigilant to cut the motors off as soon as I see Im on the ground.

You might only need a new motor if one of them is fried. Mine crashed and burned, and I thought I would need to buy a new quad, but I ordered a new motor online, installed it, and have around 50 more flights since the crash and burn.

In the first picture, the inside of the motor is supposed to be copper colored. Mine was black.

The motor got so hot, it melted away the plastic motor mount on the body and sent plumes of white smoke into the air.

I decided to fix it myself, so I bought some motor mount reinforcements online, and now its pretty solid.

What did you use for thread lock when attaching.
I can't find any loctite that is safe on plastic?

 

[Phill2]

Recently been playing around with a little Blade 200QX which has a great feature. A dedicated switch on the RC transmitter immediately shuts down the motors and disarms. So when you touch down you can flip the switch and a tip-over will do no harm. It also automatically kills the motors if you crash. DJI are you listening?

I accidentally landed my P3P long grass and the motors shut off immediately.
Is this a safety feature?